1. Field of the Invention
A hand operated gatherer is provided which enables individuals involved in harvesting small quantities of pecans or nuts to harvest more effectively and efficiently, and may likewise be used to retrieve many small objects from the ground such as rocks, golf balls and firearm casings. The invention is particularly concerned with providing an improved pecan harvester in the field of harvesters having a handle and a harvesting/storage component so that the gatherer may walk uprightly to collect pecans or other objects within the hopper of the harvesting/storage component.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Pecans and nuts are a valued resource for individuals cultivating only a few trees and those who gather the nuts from native forests. In such circumstances, the gatherer has long been forced to stoop and bend to gather nuts from unprepared ground. The ground may be muddy or the nuts may be scattered among leaves, twigs or branches which have fallen to the ground. This is especially burdensome during extended gathering and for the elderly gatherer. Similar burdens are imposed on the gatherers of other small objects that may be scattered on the ground. For example, a golfer practicing shots in a backyard may have to stoop dozens of times during a single session, or a marksman cleaning up after target practice may have to remain stooped for an burdensome amount of time to clean up the spent casings from the ground.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,071 to James E. Laughlin provided a hand pecan harvester including a hopper with laterally biased wire bails on the bottom end and an open top end. The open top end of the hopper provided means for emptying the pecans collected by inverting the pecan harvester. A handle enabled the person gathering the pecans to walk upright while gathering. Subsequent improvements in the production of harvester units include the adoption of hinged doors that are designed to be opened by placing one door against the inside wall of a rigid container such as a metal bucket, which can require excess application of force or cause tipping of the container. The Laughlin device and other related devices did eliminate the need for stooping and provided a hopper for pecans until the tool could be emptied. However, the earlier Laughlin device and related devices failed to provide a convenient means for emptying the tool.
The inventor has recognized that there are difficulties in emptying the hopper of hand-operated pecan harvesters and gatherers, which results in retrieved nuts being dumped imprecisely, often missing the targeted bucket or other desired destination, or causing nuts to be spilled by tipping of the storage container. In some cases the imprecision results in having to re-gather the scattered nuts. In addition, inverting the pecan harvester results in delay and inefficiency in gathering the nuts. As a result, an improved hand-held gatherer is needed that may be emptied more efficiently and with greater precision.